


Isn't This Dumb?

by ScytheMeister7



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: (i think), (it's just weed. nothing huge), Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, Confessions, Humor, I legit hate tagging, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-21
Updated: 2018-09-21
Packaged: 2019-07-15 07:46:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16058672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScytheMeister7/pseuds/ScytheMeister7
Summary: Keith meets Shiro in highschool and decides he's the reason why he's a complete mess of a human being.They meet again in college, and stupid misunderstandings come to light





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, I wrote this at 2:30 in the morning in two hours, and I was very tired and feeling somewhat sarcastic and annoyed, and thus, this is what happened. It's probably poorly written, and maybe doesn't make sense, but I liked most of it and it's in a style I normal don't write in, so I'm kinda happy with it. Also, the second chapter isn't really a chapter, but more like a summary of what happens after the first chapter because I was too lazy to finish writing it, whoops
> 
> Also, the title has a lot less to do with the content of this fic and more towards how I feel about it.

Keith Kogane was good at a lot of thing. Navigating so called ‘human emotions’ was not part of that list, and it was something nearly everyone around him was well aware of, including himself. It wasn’t that Keith wasn’t capable of acting like a normal human being. On the contrary, Keith was  _ excellent  _ at pretending to be that exact thing. No, the real problem came from the fact that while he knew how to fake it, Keith couldn’t quite understand  _ what _ he was faking. Because, as stated, emotions weren’t something that….came easily to him. 

It would be easy to blame it on a childhood that consisted of a missing mother and a father who was gone for work more often than not, but that was a simple answer, and one that didn’t work so well when you delved into the details, such as Keith’s father, Akira Sr. (because  _ of course  _ Keith’s name wasn’t really  _ Keith _ ) being the best damn dad when he was home, showering his son with love and affection to hopefully fill in the gaps of missing time. Keith had a good childhood, if a bit unconventional. He spent a lot of time alone, but he didn’t mind it, and maybe it was  _ that _ that truly led to the way he was now. But then again, that couldn’t be the  _ full _ story. No, it was something much deeper than just a preference for being alone. 

Perhaps it had to do with his missing mother…. He had never met her, his father telling him stories of how she had to go somewhere far far away when he asked repeatedly at the age of four. When he was five, he learned that ‘far far away’ meant six feet under in a grave in another state. All that she left behind were several letters she wrote when she first discovered she was sick, and a wicked knife that looked like it had come out of a alien flick, the kind his dad loved to watch. But, the letters were filled with as much love as written words on a piece of paper could hold, and more. Keith was quite frankly impressed, and even now, had the letters pinned to his corkscrew board in his dorm. The knife went with him everywhere, but no one needed to know that. Especially campus security. 

So no, Keith’s mother’s missing presence during his life was also not necessarily a factor in how he had become such a strange and somewhat alien human being. There wasn’t much else on the list, and so it narrowed it down quite significantly. There were only three people Keith knew that had ever held some sort of reverent importance in his life. Two of those were his parents. The third was _Takashi Shirogane_. Pretty boy. Golden boy. Sports star spectacular. Thinking about it…yeah. It was _definitely_ Mr Perfect who had fucked up Keith’s rather decent like, leaving him weird and strange and just… _abnormal_ (as Lance had a habit of calling him). But Lance’s opinions didn’t matter….is what he told himself at night to keep the other boy’s voice out of his head as he counted backwards from seventy-seven (his lucky number), hoping that maybe, _maybe_ tonight he’ll be able to fall asleep before three am hits. It doesn’t work, but most of what Keith tries to do in life doesn’t work, and again, it’s all _his_ fault. 

Keith had met Takashi Shirogane (it should actually be  _ Shirogane Takashi,  _ but of course, Americans don’t fucking care about cultures other than ‘white’) when he was sixteen years old. His dad had finally managed to move them to a better town with a new job, one where his skills as a fireman were actually useful and where he could also see his son on a more daily basis. Keith was transferred to a new school, where he had to go through the customary ‘new student!’ introduction (“Yes, my name is Akira, but  _ please  _ call me Keith.”) which was an unfortunate necessity. He’d only done it once in the past, so the second time was significantly easier, and Keith was braced for what would be a sudden influx of people curious about his life before the excitement gradually died down after one or two weeks. 

Except….this time was  _ different _ . Because  _ Takashi Shirogane _ , an upperclassman by only a year, was instructed to show him around and get him used to his new school. Keith was instantly starstruck, and it didn’t take long (maybe about...an hour?) for him to find out he wasn’t the only one. Not that Keith cared much about the opinions of others (the third letter from his mom, labeled on the front to be given to him on his first day of middle school, had said to never let the opinions of others knock him down because he was going to be a  _ badass _ and that was because he was Krolia Kogane’s son). No, Keith ignored everyone else, other than a petite girl with round glasses that seemed to cover the majority of her face and a series of hoodies that zipped up to her neck, concealing even more of her features, and kept most of his attention firmly on  _ Shiro _ , as he insisted on being called. 

Keith had nearly swooned the first time he had  _ actually  _ called him ‘Shiro’. It had been because of an argument (friendly banter) over Shiro insisting on calling Keith by his legal name. It wasn’t that Keith didn’t  _ like _ his name. It was a good name. It was just that it was his dad’s name, and Keith wasn’t a big fan of taking things that he didn’t feel were his. So, Shiro insisted on being called Shiro, and Keith insisted on being called Keith. The girl with the large glasses, named  _ Katie  _ of all things, insisted on being called  _ Pidge ( _ of all things). 

Somehow, they became  _ the trio™️,  _ an  _ incredibly  _ ridiculous and lackluster name given to them by the rest of the student body (and, surprisingly, by some of the staff as well). Just because they hung out a few (lot of) times didn’t mean that they deserved to be called such a dumb name. Sure, Keith and Pidge would sit in the bleachers during Shiro’s lacrosse practice, watching as he barrelled through other teenagers who looked way too beefed up on steroids. Sure, Shiro and Pidge would sit in the audience of Keith’s art award shows that Pidge would secretly sign him up for behind his back (because, “Your art is  _ beautiful,  _ Keith!”). Sure, Keith and Shiro would hang around in the halls outside of Pidge’s technology class to dissuade any of those particular boys who thought it was fun to rifle through her bag and flick at her glasses. It didn’t really mean anything. 

But, with two years of high school left for Keith and Pidge, and only one year left for Shiro, it was inevitable there would be a goodbye. Shiro was too good at lacrosse and quite frankly, a  _ genius _ in academics as well, so of course it wasn’t a surprise when he was handed a sports scholarship that would be immensely stupid to reject. He took it, after way too long of an internal debate, and on the last day of class, he promised both Keith and Pidge that they would see each other during the summer, before he moved away several states over to attend a fancy shmancy university. 

What Keith had not been expecting from this sort of stereotypical cross-grade friendship had been a  _ confession _ . 

Standing in front of the building in which their high school annually held their graduation, Shiro had bent down, still clad in the stomach churning yellow of their school’s graduation gown, and whispered three simple words:

_ I. Like. You. _

Sure, maybe kicking Shiro in the crotch before running away wasn’t the  _ best _ response to a confession Keith  _ never  _ in all his years of living thought he would receive. But, in his defense, he had been hardcore crushing on the one year older male for maybe over four months, and having his feelings returned in such a way was a  _ shock _ . It left him feeling strangely numb, and his only way of reacting (as  _ stupid _ ) as it was, was to block Shiro’s number on his phone and then immediately call Pidge to ask if he was insane or not. Of course, she told him the truth (“You’re more than insane, Keith.  _ Much more _ .”). He had been looking for comfort, not to be mocked, but he should have known better than to come to  _ Pidge  _ for that. Still, she tried her best to calm him down, but it didn’t mean it was the end of Keith’s descent into whatever it was he was now.  _ No, it had only just begun _ . 

Now, while Keith had made an  _ absolute  _ fool of himself on that particular day in June, he had tried to makeup for it by promptly unblocking Shiro’s number (nearly four hours) after his call with Pidge. He waited patiently. And then waited some more. And then a little bit more. 

Finally, overcome by the need to do  _ something,  _ Keith picked up his phone and called Shiro himself. After three rings, the telltale sign that whoever was trying to be reached was  _ not  _ going to answer, Keith nearly ended the call, only for the ringing to stop and for Shiro’s cool ‘hello’ to breathe over the line. Wow, a rare four ring pick up, Keith had only read about those before… It took a lot of effort for him to force any words from his throat, but when he did, he instantly regretted it. “So, about what happened earlier…” He muttered, and that wasn’t a like he should have  _ muttered.  _ It wasn’t even something he should have said in the  _ first  _ place. Regardless, it was out, but the response he got was much worse than anything that could have come out of his own mouth. Shiro’s voice was level, calm. Extremely normal, despite the circumstances surrounding this call: 

“What do you mean?”

Keith nearly stopped breathing, which wasn’t a good thing seeing as human beings need air to, yunno,  _ live.  _ But Keith couldn’t help it. His breath hiccuped and Shiro seemed to shift on the other line, the sound of fabric coming through the speaker. “You okay, Keith?” Shiro sounded so damn  _ normal _ and it  _ bothered _ Keith. Because….because  _ why???  _ Why was he acting like a  _ CONFESSION _ hadn’t passed through his lips, what….five hours ago? No, no. If Shiro was gonna play this game, then Keith was  _ not  _ going to be the first one to crack. He  _ refused.  _ If there was one thing his mother had drilled into him from the moment he learned how to read and held the first of her letters in his hand, then it was that Keith would  _ never be the one to break first _ . If he were to be kidnapped and tortured on government secrets (thought he had  _ no  _ idea why that would ever happen), then Keith was pretty sure he’d be getting out of there with a few bloody knuckles and his lips sealed shut. Keith didn’t lose. He wouldn’t allow himself to. 

So, he shut up all the errant thoughts running through his mind about how fucking  _ weird  _ this situation was, and cleared his throat. “Nothing. I’ll see you in a week for movie night.” And with that, Keith ended the call and threw his phone across his bedroom (making sure it landed in the pile of clothes that needed to be folded) before dropping his head into his pillows to  _ scream _ . 

This was the start of Keith’s eventual fall into absolute madness and numbness to ‘human emotions’. The summer passed by in a way that was not at all memorable, sprinkled in with movie and game nights, as well as three am group chat conversations that made the three of them sound like they were either high, drunk, or both. By the time Shiro left for college, Keith had already begun his change from regular weird boy to what Lance cheerfully dubbed as ‘what the fuck?’ weird boy. 

In the end, the reason Keith was he way he was had nothing to do with his parents, but instead, had  _ everything _ to do with Takashi Shirogane, the man who had cut off ties with both Keith and Pidge a week after his classes started, leaving the both of them bitter senior high school students, and eventually, even more bitter freshman college students. But, what had been the most shocking thing about this whole ordeal was that Keith never ever expected to run into the man who ruined his life again. Shiro had went off to a far more prestigious university in another state while Keith and Pidge made a pact to both get into their own state university and kick ass. 

Of course, Keith’s life had a habit of not going the way he wanted (again, all because of  _ him _ ), so seeing Shiro’s face on the first day of lower sophomore semester, sitting in the front row of his Abnormal Psychology class….well. Keith did himself rather proud. He held back all the screams he had building up for the past two years, and walked past Shiro, ignoring the scar along the bridge of his nose and the stupid white tuft of hair in front of his eyes, and made his way to the back of the room where Lance and Allura sat. He did not spare Shiro another look not a glance. He did not say a word to him. And after his professor finished explaining their syllabus for the semester, he  _ did not _ let his eyes wander over the man who had said such life altering words to him, only to walk out of said life. No, instead, he laughed at Lance’s stupid jokes (“What’s Beethoven’s favorite fruit?” “What?” “BA-NA-NA-NAAAA!”), held Allura’s hand as they walked out the door (because guys  _ loved _ to flirt with her even though she was about as straight as a rainbow colored slinky and Keith was intimidating enough to keep the majority of them away), and kept his gaze steady and firm in front of him. 

What he didn’t know was that Shiro had completely blanked out on everything Professor West had said, mind simply filled with the image of a boy who had  _ grown _ , with hair long enough to be pulled into a ponytail, dyed a dark purple at the tips, and eyes that matched almost perfectly in color. In this respect, Keith had won the battle, not that either of them were aware a war was going on in the first place. Keith wasn’t going to let this ruin him. No, not again. But just because he had made that decision, it didn’t mean he didn’t  _ immediately  _ text Pidge once he had both hands free. Definitely not. He wasn’t  _ stupid _ . 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so this is just the summary of what would happen next, but I'm way too lazy to actually write it and finish it, so have...this thing

Keith, during his freshman year of college, befriends Lance, Allura, and Hunk. He and Lance date for about a month before they realize they’re much better off as friends (“Our make-out sessions were good, though.” “Hmm, yeah. I don’t remember that. Must’ve blocked it from my memory.” “Hey, Mullet!”)

He and Pidge remain the best of friends, and every time something reminds them of Shiro, they both glare it down until they either walk past it or it moves out of view (“That poor dude didn’t need to shrink under your death ray glares, guys.” “He was wearing a lacrosse shirt….”)

When Shiro appears, Keith wastes no time telling Pidge, and the two of them spend a month observing nearly everything he does while pretending to ignore him everytime he manages to catch sight of them (“Is he still watching us?” “Yeah…” “Guess we’ll have to leave then, this is going nowhere.”)

Eventually, Shiro approaches Keith in class and Allura and Lance ask to be introduced. They know Keith’s history and know how ridiculous both him and Pidge are acting, but also don’t fully trust Shiro for his shady actions in the past (“Oh! So this is the Shiro I’ve heard so much about?” “Allura, I love you and every precious silver hair on your head, but  _ shut. up. _ ”)

Keith and Shiro talk, and it’s very very very awkward, especially since it’s cultural day, and everyone around them are dressed in clothing they claim is ‘cultural dress’, running around while blasting music, singing loudly, and generally just being a menace (“Was that...a girl with just the American flag wrapped around her?” “Yeah...I think it was.”)

They talk about how Shiro got his scar and why he’s back in his home state, and Shiro reveals that it’s due to a lacrosse accident that caused the scar and kinda fucked up his dominant wrist enough to seriously restrict his ability to play, and so, without the sports scholarship, he moved back.

Keith asks about the whole high school thing, and in the end, it was because one of Shiro’s friends had gotten him high after graduation, leading him to forget about the whole confession thing during their phone call, and by the time he remembered, things were already weird (“You’re kidding me…Golden Boy Takashi Shirogane got high?” “It was a moment of weakness.”)

They laugh about it, and of course, Pidge is hiding somewhere in the background and jumps on Shiro’s back, angry that Shiro still never tried to contact them, even when he came back. Shiro confesses because he knew he had fucked up and didn’t think he deserved to be forgiven (“You’re a real piece of work, you know that?” “Yeah, I’m an idiot….” “Our idiot.”)

There’s the return of the iconic trio™️, and after a month of being idiots, Shiro and Keith finally confess again to each other, this time with better results (“I–” “–like–” “–you.” “FUCKING FINALLY.”)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happily ever after? I dunno.


End file.
